Archers&#39; bow



Aug. 2, 1955 L. J. MULKEY ARCHERS BOW Filed Aug. 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

155 JACKSON MULKEY INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent ARCHERS 130W Lee Jackson Mulkey, Dallas, Tex. Application August 21, 1952, Serial No. 305,653 Claims. Cl. 124-24 This invention relates to archery equipment and more particularly to archers bows.

Archers bows of the conventional type which are adapted to shoot arrows long distances require a strong pull to operate the bow. As a result, archers who are not physically very strong, as in the case of most women, are unable to use such bows and must, therefore, forego the sport or content themselves with short range archery. It is desirable, therefore, to provide an archers bow which does not require a strong pull and which can be used with ease by archers without great effort. Furthermore, it is desirable that the bow be provided with a means for varying the force of the pull necessary to operate the bow. It is also desirable that the bow be provided with an equalizing mechanism for equalizing the forces at each end of the bow which tension the bow string in order to insure a direct thrust on the arrow at the midsection of the string. Moreover, it is desirable that the how be made of a plurality of sections which may be disassembled for ease of storage and shipping.

Accordingly, it is an object of. the invention to provide a new and improved archers bow.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved archers bow which will shoot arrows long distances and does not require a strong pull for its operation.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an archers bow having a mechanism for equalizing the forces at each end of the bow which tension the bow string.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an archers bow having means for varying the force of the pull needed to operate the bow.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a new and improved archers bow which embodies an intermediate section on which end members of the bow are pivotally mounted and are connected to resilient members which yieldingly resist the pivotal movement of the end members toward each other.

With the foregoing objects in. view, the invention has further reference to certain features of accomplishment which will become apparent as the description proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front plan view of the archers bow shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear plan view of the archers bow shown in Figure 1 with the central portion of the bow string broken away; and,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 3;

Referring now to the drawing, the archers bow comprises a pair of complementary end members 11 and 12- pivotally connected to opposite ends of an intermediate member 13 by hinges 14 and 15, respectively. The hinges 14 and 15 includes leaves 16 and 17, respectively, rigidly secured to the rear side of the intermediate member by ice bolts 18 and leaves 19 and 20 which are secured to the end members 11 and 12, respectively, by the bolts 21. It will be apparent that the end members 11 and 12 may pivot inwardly about the hinges 14 and 15 toward each other when the bow string 22, whose opposite ends are attached to the outer ends of the end members in any suitable manner, is drawn away from the intermediate member 13.

The inward pivotal movement of the end members 11 and 12 is resisted by the two pairs of springs 23 and 24,

respectively. The springs 23 have their outer or upper ends secured to a plate 25 having a threaded lug 26 which extends upwardly through the eye of an eyebolt 27 and is held therein by a wing nut 28. The shank of the eyebolt extends through suitable apertures in the leaf 16 and the intermediate member 13 and is secured in place by the nut 29. The opposite ends of the springs 23 are secured to the leaf 3! of a hinge 31 whose other leaf 32 is rigidly secured to the rear end portion 33 of a lever 34 by welding or in any other suitable manner. The lever 34 includes a sleeve 35 from which the rear end portion 33 and the front end portion 36 of the lever extend in opposite directions. The sleeve 35 is disposed transversely in an aperture 37a of the intermediate member and is rotatably mounted on a bolt 37]) which extends transversely through the aperture.

A link 37 connects the front end portion of the lever 34 to the front leg of an L-shaped link 38 mounted on the end member 11. The link 37 includes a tensioning member or turnbuckle 39 which connects the threaded rods 40 and 41. The rod 40 is connected by welding to the leaf 42 of a hinge 43 whose other leaf 44- is connected by welding to the front end portion 36 of the lever 34 while the rod 41 is connected by Welding to the leaf 45 of a hinge 46 whose other leaf 47 is connected by welding to the front leg 48 of the L-shaped link 38. The rear leg 49 of the L-shaped link and the rear end of a reinforcing strap 50 are secured to the end member 11 by the bolts 21. The front end of the reinforcing strap may be secured to the leaf 47 by welding or in any suitable manner. A bar 51 may extend from the reinforcing strap to the bend of the L-shaped link to serve as an additional reinforcing element. The bar may be welded to the reinforcing strap.

The upper end of the intermediate portion is provided with a butt plate 52 against which the front leg 48 of the L-shaped link may rest.

The springs 34 similarly have their outer or lower ends secured to a plate 53 having a threaded lug 54 which extends downwardly through the eye of an eyebolt 55 and is held therein by a wing nut 56. The shank of the eyebolt extends through suitable apertures in the leaf 17 and the intermediate member 13 and is secured in place by a nut 57. The opposite ends of the springs 24 are secured to the leaf 58 of a hinge 59 whose other leaf B is secured to the rear end portion 61 of a lever 62 by welding or in any other suitable manner. The lever 62 includes a sleeve 63 from which the rear end portion 61 and the front end portion 64 extend in opposite directions. The sleeve 63 is disposed transversely in an aperture 65 of the intermediate member and is rotatably mounted on a bolt 66 which extends transversely through the aperture.

A link 67 connects the front end portion 64 of the lever 62 to the front leg of an L-shaped link 68 mounted on the end member 12. The link 67 includes a tensioning member or turnbuckle 69 which connects the threaded rods 70 and 71. The rod 70 is connected by welding to the leaf 72 of a hinge 73 whose other leaf 74 is connected by welding to the front end portion 64 of the lever 62 while the rod 71 is connected by welding to the leaf 75 of a hinge 76 whose other leaf 77 is connected by welding to the front leg 73 of the L-shaped link 68. The rear leg 79 of the L-shaped link and the rear end of a reinforcing strap 80 are secured to the end member 12 by the bolts 21. The front end of the reinforcing strap may be secured to the leaf 77 by welding or in any suitable manner. A bar 81 may extend from the reinforcing strap 80 to the bend of the L-shaped link to serve as an additional reinforcing element. The bar may be welded to the reinforcing strap. The lower end of the intermediate portion is providedwith a butt plate 82, against which the front leg 78 of the L-shaped link may rest.

It will now be apparent that when the bow string 22 is drawn outwardly, to the right in Figure l, the end members 11 and 12 will pivot inwardly, clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, about the hinges 14 and r 15. The levers 34 and 62 will then be caused to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, about the bolts 37b and 66. This movement of the. levers 34 and 62 will cause the springs 23 and 24 to stretch so that when the bow string is released, the energy stored in the stretched springs 23 and 24 will be effective to move the end members 11 and 12 outwardly and the bow string inwardly. The springs 23 and 24 may be very strong springs since the ratio of the lengths of front legs 48 and 78 of the L-shaped links to the lengths of the end members 11 and 12 is very large and the resultant mechanical advantage of the bell crank levers formed by the L- shaped links and the end members is also, therefore, very large. The mechanical advantage can be multiplied by making the rear portions 33 and 61 of the levers 34 and 62 shorter than the front portions 36 and 64, respectively. As a result, a relatively small force applied to the bow string to move it outwardly will cause the very strong springs 23 and 24 to stretch. The amount of stretch of the springs will necessarily be small so that when the bow string is released, the springs have to move only a very small distance to return to their original positions. The outer ends of the end members 11 and 12, however, will have to move through large arcs so that the springs in returning to their original positions will impart a large velocity of movement to outer ends of the end members. As a consequence, the inward acceleration of the bow string 22 will be very great. This great acceleration of the bow string, of course, is imparted to an arrow which will acquire a great velocity which causes the arrow to travel a very long distance in flight. The combination of very strong springs which are stretched only Very small amounts with a leverage system which causes the outer ends of the pivoted end members to move through large arcs for small stretching movements of the springs, permits a person, of relatively small strength who can exert only a relatively weak pull on the bow string to use the described archers bow to shoot arrows over very long distances.

The arrow is shot through a central aperture 83 in the intermediate portion 13. A sight 84 is connected to the left side of the intermediate portion by screws 85. A hand grip 86 is also disposed on the left hand side of the intermediate section and secured thereto by the bolts 37b and 66 which extend through the registering apertures in the hand grip and the spacer blocks 87 and 88 which space the hand grip laterally from the intermediate section. A substantially U-shaped forearm guard 89 extends rearwardly from the hand grip to protect the left forearm of the archer from contact with the bow string. The nuts 90 and 91 on the threaded ends of the bolts 37b and 66, respectively, serve to secure the bolts to the intermediate section.

In order to insure that the end members 11 and 12 move simultaneously so that the bow string will always exert a thrust on the arrow which acts in a direction perpendicular to the intermediate section 13, the leaves 42 and 72 are connected to a slide sleeve 92. The leaf 42 is connected to the slide sleeve by a hinge 93 whose leaf 94 is welded to the leaf 42 and whose other leaf 95 is welded to the rear end of a rod or link 96. The front end of the rod 96 is welded to the leaf 97 of a hinge 98 whose other leaf 99 is welded to the slide sleeve. The leaf 72 is similarly connected to the slide sleeve by a hinge 100 whose leaf 101 is welded to the leaf 72 and whose other leaf 102 is welded to the rear end of a rod or link 103. The front end of the rod 103 is welded to the leaf 104 of a hinge 105 whose other leaf 106 is welded to the slide sleeve.

The slide sleeve is slidably disposed on a guide rod 107 which extends forwardly from and on the right side of the bow. The rear end of the guide rod is welded to a base rod 108 which may be welded to the nuts 90 and 91 of the bolts 37b and 66. Reinforcing rods 109 and 110 extend angularly and forwardly from the ends of the base rod to the guide rod and are secured to the guide rod and the base rod by welding or in any other suitable manner. It will be obvious that the base rod 108 may be secured to the intermediate member 13 by separate screws or bolts or may be welded directly to the intermediate member if this be desired.

It will now be obvious that any inward or outward movement of one end member 11 or 12 will result in a similar and simultaneous movement of the other end member. For example, if the end member 11 is moved rearwardly and inwardly, the leaf 42 will move upwardly causing the hinge 93 to move upwardly. The upper end of the rod 96 will move upwardly causing the slide sleeve 92 to move rearwardly toward the intermediate member. As a result, the lower end of the rod 103 will be moved downwardly, the link 67 will be moved downwardly, and consequently, the end member 12 will move inwardly and rearwardly as the end member 11 is moved inwardly and rearwardly. The guide rod and the sliding sleeve which is connected by mechanical linkages to the end members 11 and 12 always cause the end members 11 and 12 of the bow to exert equal forces on oppositev ends of the bow string 22 so that the bow string will exert a direct thrust on an arrow which will act in a direction perpendicular to the intermediate member so that the flight of the arrow will always be true. The intermediate member may be made of cast aluminum and the end members may be made of hickory or other suitable wood. The tension of the springs 23 and 24 may be adjusted to any desired value by rotation of the turnbuckles and also by rotation of the nuts 28 and 56.

It will be apparent now that an archers bow has been described which has an intermediate member 13, a pair of end members 11 and 12 pivoted to opposite ends of the intermediate section, springs 23 and 24 mounted on the intermediate member, and mechanical linkages connecting the springs to the end members so that a small movement of the springs will result in a large movement of the free outer ends of the end members whereby an archer may draw the bow string rearwardly and pivot the end members inwardly against the great force exerted by strong springs by the exertion of a relatively weak force on the string. It will also be seen that a relatively small movement of the springs toward manual rest position will result in very large movements of the outer ends of the end members whereby a very great acceleration may be imparted to the bow string and an arrow engaged thereby. Furthermore, it will be seen that an equalizing mechanism has been provided to insure that the end members 11 and 12 move in synchronism so that the thrust on an arrow engaged by the bow string acts always in the desired direction.

' Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An archers bow comprising an elongate intermediate member; a pair of elongate end members pivoted to opposite ends of said intermediate member and having outer ends movable toward and away from each other; means for biasing said outer ends of said end members away from each other, said means comprising a resilient means for biasing each of said end members mounted on said intermediate member and a pair of mechanical linkages connecting each of said end members to its resilient means for causing a small contracting movement of said resilient means to result in a large outward movement of the outer end of its associated end member and means restricted to sliding displacement in a plane perpendicular to said intermediate member and to which said mechanical linkages are connected to effect equal synchronous displacement of said end members.

2. An archers bow comprising an elongate intermediate member, a pair of end members having inner ends pivoted to opposite ends of said intermediate member; a pair of resilient means, each of said resilient means being disposed on the rear side of said intermediate member and having one end secured to said intermediate member adjacent one end of said intermediate member; a pair of levers pivoted intermediate their rear and front ends to said intermediate member, each of said levers having its rear end secured to a free end of the adjacent resilient means; a first link secured to each of said end members adjacent the inner end of the end member and extending forwardly from said end member; and a second link connecting the front end of each of said levers to the forward end of each of said first links, a guide rod aifixed at one end adjacent one side of said intermediate member and means slidable on said rod to which said second links and levers are pivotally connected to effect equal displacement of said end members.

3. An archers bow comprising an elongate intermediate member, a pair of end members having inner ends pivoted to opposite ends of said intermediate member; a pair of resilient means, each of said resilient means being disposed on the rear side of said intermediate member and having one end secured to said intermediate member adjacent one end of said intermediate member; a pair of levers pivoted intermediate their rear and front ends to said intermediate member, each of said levers having its rear end secured to a free end of the adjacent resilient means; a first link secured to each of said end members adjacent the inner end of the end member and extending forwardly from said end member; and a second link extending between the front end of each of said levers and the forward end of each of said first links, each of ,said second links having opposite ends pivotally connected to said front end of its associated lever and said forward end of its associated first link, a guide rod mounted on said intermediate member and extending forwardly from said intermediate member and disposed between said levers; a sleeve slidably mounted on said guide rod; and a third link between each of said second links and said sleeve, each of said third links having opposite ends pivotally secured to said sleeve and its associated second link.

4. An archers bow comprising an elongate intermediate member having a pair of spaced apertures adjacent opposite ends thereof; a pair of opposed end members having inner ends pivoted to opposite ends of said intermediate member; a pair of resilient means, each of said resilient means being disposed on the rear side of said intermediate member and having one end secured to said intermediate member adjacent one end of said intermediate member, a pair of levers, each of said levers extending through one of said apertures and being pivotally mounted on said intermediate member, each of said levers having its rear end secured to a free end of its adjacent resilient means; a pair of first links, each of said first links being secured to one of said end members adjacent the inner end thereof and extending forwardly; and a pair of second links, each of said second links connecting the front end of each of said levers to the first link of the adjacent end member, a guide rod mounted on said intermediate member and extending forwardly from said intermediate member and disposed between said levers; a sleeve slidably mounted on said guide rod; and a third link between each of said second links and said sleeve, each of said third links having opposite ends pivotally secured to said sleeve and its associated second link.

5. An archers bow comprising an elongate intermediate member, an end member pivoted at one end to each end of said intermediate member, said end members each having an L-shaped link aifixed to its pivoted end, one leg of said link extending forwardly of said how, a pair of levers pivoted at their midsections to said intermediate member at points spaced from its midsection, a pair of coil springs attached at their upper ends to said intermediate member and at their lower ends to one end of one of said levers, a guide rod attached to and extending forwardly of said intermediate member, a sleeve slidable on said rod, a second link connecting the opposite end of said one of said levers and said sleeve, and longitudinally adjustable means pivoted at one end to the forwardly extending leg of said L-shaped link and at its opposite end to said one of said levers at the point of connection of said second link whereby said coil springs will bias said end members in equal degree.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 428,912 Holmes May 27, 1890 736,051 Adams Aug. 11, 1903 1,152,186 Koehler Aug. 31, 1915 1,605,300 Thompson Nov. 2, 1926 2,344,799 Brown et a1. Mar. 21, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 926,304 France Apr. 14, 1947 

